


A Scribbled Out Name (That My Love Keeps Writing Again and Again)

by RavenclawPianist



Series: You Inspired a Fire of Devotion [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, eventual pining, the bar au that i couldn't stop thinking about, weird amount of disco love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 08:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10850553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenclawPianist/pseuds/RavenclawPianist
Summary: After yet another failed relationship, Calypso is ready to swear off love for a while. There isn't anything in her life that suggests that would be difficult, especially not her new friendship with the slightly ridiculous bartender at her usual bar.





	1. Part 1

In hindsight, she blamed the entire situation on the rain.

After an exhaustingly long day at work- during which the office break room ran out of coffee at nine-thirty-four in the morning, her editor shot down three of the five article ideas she pitched, her office-mate played the same annoying song on repeat for two hours, and she got stuck working on a piece on gardening trends for the April issue- just as she turned the corner onto the street that marked the half-way point of her route home, the heavy clouds that had hovered all day suddenly decided to empty themselves of water. Within a minute, Calypso was soaked.

Muttering to herself, Calypso hurried down the block to a small bar she had noticed a few times during her walk between work and home. A small neon sign above the doorway let passersby know they were entering _Olympus_. Stopping just outside the doorway to wring out her hair, she stepped into the bar.

Dim lighting left the corners of the bar in shadow. A variety of mismatched tables and stools cluttered the floor, leaving thin pathways that led to the bar. A collection of bottles lined the back wall, the light above the bar reflecting softly off the glass. For a Thursday evening at six o’clock, the bar had a decent amount of customers. Calypso wound her way through the tables and waited at the counter until she caught the attention of one of the bartenders.

Tall with perfectly wavy blonde hair, the bartender smiled at Calypso. “Hi! What can I get you?”

“A shot of Cuervo and a Vodka Martini with cranberry juice,” Calypso pulled out her wallet and handed over her ID and credit card. “Thanks.”

“Tough day?” the bartender asked as he slid a shot glass across the bar.

“What gave it away?” Calypso tossed the shot back easily, accepting a pen to sign the receipt.

The bartender- Will, according to his nametag- shrugged. “You look like you got dunked in a lake, ordered two drinks right off the bat without wanting to open a tab, and you haven’t smiled since you came in,” he handed Calypso her martini.

“Thanks, it was just one of those days, you know?” she nodded to Will. “Thanks for asking.”

Drink in hand; she went over to an empty table a little closer to the door than the counter. She took a sip of her drink, closing her eyes with a sigh as she felt the light burn of the alcohol going down her throat. Leaning back in her seat, she pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her saved pictures.

It only took a few flicks of her thumb across her screen to reach the photos she wanted to see. Blue-green eyes, a crooked smile, and wild black hair filled the screen. Another flick, and there he was with his arm around her shoulders, laughing at whatever had just been said. Another, and she was leaning into his shoulder with a soft smile on her face. One more, and they grinned at the camera with sunglasses on and a Ferris wheel behind them. She stopped to stare at the last picture: a saved snapchat he had sent of her curled up on his couch with her head pillowed on his leg with the caption “Too cute to move” across the picture.

Sipping more of her drink, Calypso continued to scroll through the photos, ignoring the rising noise of the bar around her. Her concentration didn’t even waver until someone landed on her table, knocking her drink into her lap and bowling over the table.

“What the hell?” she shrieked, jumping out of her seat. The martini glass fell to the floor and shattered, spraying glass around her feet. A man blinked up at her from the ground, grimacing slightly as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He yelped when he accidently put his hand on a small piece of glass.

“Sorry,” he said, standing up and wincing as he pulled the glass out of his palm. “Probably should have waited for Jason to break up that fight, but I was closer, so I thought I’d give it a shot.”

Calypso vaguely noticed a tall blonde man pushing a rowdy group of men out of the bar behind the man who had been thrown onto her table, but she was too irritated to particularly care. “Well, you definitely seem like you did a great job with that. You broke a table, injured yourself, and spilled my drink all over my favorite skirt. Really, fantastic job.”

He reeled back for a moment on his heels before shaking his head and laughing. “Wow. You’re a ball of sunshine, huh? Look, sorry I interrupted your solo drinking and I’m sorry about your skirt. In case you didn’t catch it, I was trying to break up a fight between a couple of guys who are way too invested in which hockey team will be going to the play-offs this year. Also, my hand is bleeding, which holy shit how did I not notice that?” he glanced down at his hand again, just seeming to notice the line of blood running across his palm and between his middle and ring finger from where he had pulled out the bit of glass. Without another word he vanished behind the counter.

A petite woman with wavy cinnamon brown hair walked over to Calypso, a broom and dustpan in her hand. “I am so sorry, Miss. Here, if you’ll step over here I can sweep up the glass and we’ll get you a fresh drink on the house. I’m so sorry, I’ve told Leo a million times to not get involved in fights.”

Calypso stepped out of her way, watching as she swept up the broken glass. “So this is a regular thing?”

The woman- Hazel, _Manager_ , read her nametag- shrugged. “Anywhere people go to let loose has a possibility of a fight. We don’t have many anymore thanks to the new bouncers we’ve hired, but it still happens.”

“I meant the guy getting thrown into tables.”

“Oh,” Hazel smiled slightly. “Yeah, Leo likes to think he’s tougher than he actually is,” she finished sweeping and nodded towards the bar. “What would you like? On the house.”

Calypso shook her head, suddenly realizing just how tired she felt. “Thanks, but I should actually go. I was just here to get out of the rain.”

Hazel frowned slightly. “Are you sure? Here, at least let me get you a voucher for a free drink for your next visit.” She ducked behind the bar momentarily before coming back over with an orange business card. “Bring this in next time you’re here, and your first drink will be on the house.”

“Thanks,” Calypso slipped the card into her purse. “Have a good night.”

“You too!” Hazel called as Calypso slipped out the door and continued her walk home, the rain slowed to just a light drizzle.

 

 

She didn’t mean to go back the next night, but after getting home and realizing she was facing an evening of watching Netflix by herself and going to bed by ten o’clock on a Friday she decided she needed to get out of her apartment. Sending a quick text to her friend Reyna from the layout department, she pulled on a dress and reapplied a little mascara and a fresh red lipstick. Within twenty minutes she was walking through the door to _Olympus_.

The bar was filled with people and sound. Groups crowded around tables, old rock music blared from the jukebox by the end of the bar counter, and three bartenders wove around each other behind the bar as they mixed drinks and passed them to the people ordering. Calypso pushed her way through the crowd to an open stool at the bar. She recognized Will from her previous visit, but the other two bartenders were new to her.

A gorgeous brunette with a thin braid woven into her hair leaned against the bar across from her, customer service smile in place. “Hi! What can I get you?”

Calypso pulled out the business card. “A margarita on the rocks, please.”

She picked up the card and laughed, her smile becoming less plastic and more real. “Oh my god, are you the girl who’s table Leo broke?”

She laughed a little awkwardly. “That was me.”

“Oh my god,” the bartender continued to laugh. “I’m sorry, I just- I heard you tore him a new one and I have to say that I am so glad someone was there to yell at him for trying to fight three guys twice his size.”

She blushed. “I didn’t really yell at him. I had had a bad day and-”

The bartender shook her head. “Seriously, don’t worry. Leo bounces back super-fast and has been showing off his hand all day. It’s kind of annoying. I’m glad you told him off, because otherwise he’d probably be bragging even more,” she slid Calypso’s drink over to her. “I’m Piper, by the way. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

Calypso nodded, watching as Piper moved down the bar to another customer. She jumped slightly when a hand landed on her shoulder.

“You have questionable taste in men, but if that’s the kind of woman you go for then damn I might need to start asking you to set me up,” Reyna said with a grin as she slid onto the stool beside Calypso’s. “Did you get hot bartender’s name?”

Calypso rolled her eyes. “Her name is Piper and I am not going for her.”

“Pity. Although it looks like the bouncer might have a thing for her, and that sounds too complicated.” Reyna said, tossing her braid over her shoulder as she glanced over at the door. Calypso followed her gaze and saw the tall blonde man from last night grinning at Piper, who grinned back and winked.

“Definitely not something to get involved in,” Calypso agreed as Piper came back over.

“Hey, what can I get you?” she asked Reyna.

“Round of tequila shots for me and Calypso and whatever is the specialty on tap,” Reyna replied.

After clinking shot glasses and tossing back the tequila, Reyna and Calypso started on their favorite bar game: Who’s the asshole? The rules were simple. They would pick a group of people out of their hearing range and make up a history between the members of that group, including who had previously dated whom and who was currently making everyone else uncomfortable based on the group’s body language.

“Okay,” Reyna started, nodded towards a group of three women at a table next to the jukebox. “Blonde in the black dress just broke up with her boyfriend and is now saying she’s done with men.”

“Brunette is hoping she’s not kidding, because she’s been in love with her for years,” Calypso added.

“Blonde in the green shirt is hoping this means she can jump in and take the ex-boyfriend and is trying to decide the right moment to ask if he’s actually available now,” Reyna took a drink from her beer. “She and the ex hooked up before other blonde and he started dating and she’s been waiting for them to break up for ages.”

Calypso winced. “Hitting a little close for comfort, there.”

“Oh shit, I’m sorry,” Reyna reached out to pat Calypso’s arm in an awkward attempt at comfort. “I forgot about the Jackson incident.”

Calypso shrugged, sipping her margarita. “It’s almost been a month; I should be over it, right?”

“Can’t put a timeline on heartbreak,” Reyna commented. “Okay, how about the guys by the dart board?”

Calypso watched them for a minute. “Guy in football jersey wants to go over to blonde in black dress from earlier, but isn’t feeling confident enough yet. Polo shirt with collar popped guy is telling some story from college because he literally doesn’t do anything other than remember when he was the big man on campus.”

“Guy in Batman shirt is waiting for polo guy to shut up so he can start talking about communism,” Calypso and Reyna turned to see Piper leaning against the counter behind them, grinning. “And the guy in the sweatshirt is wishing he had stayed home.”

Reyna lifted her beer in a toast to Piper. “Aren’t bartenders supposed to be non-judgmental?”

“I think you’re confusing us with priests,” Piper replied. “Bartenders can judge all we like. It’s one of the perks of the job.”

The evening passed quickly, Calypso and Reyna catching up on their weeks while playing Who’s the Asshole, occasionally joined by Piper. Calypso felt the tension of the week start to ease in her shoulders as she relaxed. As they finished their second drinks, she nodded towards the table by the jukebox that had been reclaimed by two guys after the three women from earlier had left. “Guys by jukebox?”

Reyna glanced over at them, frowning. One had his back towards them; all they could see of him was his slight build, curly black hair and a pair of suspenders worn over his t-shirt. The other was a tall Asian man who held himself like he still wasn’t quite used to his height. Reyna clicked her tongue against her teeth and grinned. “Oh my god. I think that’s Frank Zhang! Hold my beer,” she pushed her beer closer to Calypso before crossing the room.

Calypso watched as Reyna stopped beside the guy with his back to the bar. Frank grinned at her and nodded before Reyna reached out and slapped him on the shoulder- the closest Reyna ever came to hugging someone. She said something before going back to the counter. “Come on,” she told Calypso. “We’re joining Frank and his friend.”

“Frank, this is Calypso. She works at the same magazine as me and has a tragic taste in men,” Reyna introduced. “Calypso, Frank and I went to the same high school. He was a year behind me, but we were in the same military strategy club.”

“Okay, one, do not use my dating history as an introduction to a new person ever,” Calypso said. “Two, what kind of high school did you go to?”

The second guy turned to look at her and smirked, one side of his mouth going higher than the other. “Well, if it isn’t the angry girl who’s skirt I ruined.”

Sure enough, Frank’s friend was the guy who had been thrown onto her table the previous night. Frowning at him, Calypso noticed things about him she hadn’t before. The surprisingly pointy tips of his ears stuck out from under his curls, his eyes were a warm brown, and he was an inch or two shorter than she was in her low heels. He didn’t seem able to sit still, constantly either drumming his fingers against the table, shaking his leg, or running his hand over his hair.

“Well, if it isn’t the guy who got thrown into a table,” Calypso replied. “Break any other furniture today?”

“Nice to meet you, Calypso,” Frank cut in. “Ignore Leo, most of us do.”

“Hey!” Leo protested.

“So what have you been up to for the last eight years, Frank?” Reyna asked, leaning against the wall beside the table. “Last time I saw you, you still had chubby cheeks and were decent with a bow and the spear.”

“Again, what kind of high school did you go to?” Calypso muttered.

Frank shrugged. “I got a degree in physical therapy. I started working at a physical rehab clinic across town about a year ago.”

The two old friends started trading stories of the years between them. Calypso tuned out after a few minutes, absent-mindedly checking her phone for emails. She looked up when Leo leaned over slightly to catch her attention.

“Hey, um, I am sorry about yesterday,” he said quietly, fingers still tapping on the table. “I didn’t mean to land on your table.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, putting her phone down on the table. “How’s your hand?”

He held it out for her to see. A small cut was healing a little above the center of his palm, closer to his ring finger. “Not too bad,” he shrugged. “I just had to be a little more careful than usual at work today.”

“Don’t you work here?”

“Yeah, but I also work at a mechanic shop on weekdays,” Leo answered, taking a sip from his beer bottle. “This job is just a couple nights a week.”

“How do you know Frank?” she asked.

“I met him through my roommate,” he replied. “Jason, the bouncer over there.”

Calypso saw where he pointed and recognized the blonde bouncer. “Maybe you can clear up something Reyna and I were making bets on earlier- are Jason and Piper a thing?”

He laughed. “It’s so obvious, right? Yeah, they’ve been dating a couple months now. They never got as annoying about it as Frank and Hazel, though. They’re annoyingly cute all the time together.”

Calypso held up a hand. “Hang on. So you and Jason are roommates. Jason is dating Piper. You and Jason are friends with Frank who is dating Hazel. Is this whole bar some weird interconnected friend group?”

“Well, Will is dating Hazel’s brother,” Leo added. “Did you meet Will?”

“The blonde bartender?”

“That’s the one,” Leo confirmed. “Man, we are weirdly interconnected. Never really thought about it.”

“Guess it’s time for us to get some new friends then,” Frank commented, tuning into the end of their conversation. “Why don’t you two come along for our next game night?” he asked Reyna and Calypso. “We have them every third Tuesday of the month.”

Reyna shrugged. “I don’t have plans. Calypso?”

“As long as no tables get broken,” she glanced at Leo with a small smirk of her own.

“I’ll have you know, that is the only time I broke a table.”

“Liar. You broke one last Halloween when that band started playing ABBA music,” Frank replied.

Leo glared at him as the women laughed. “We agreed not to ever mention that night again.”

“I need the whole story now,” Reyna demanded. “And we need another round of shots.”

An hour and two shots later, Calypso and Leo leaned over the jukebox as they tried to decide on a song to play. “B7,” she pointed. “Can’t go wrong with some Def Leppard.”

“Come on, F3 is a classic,” Leo argued. “What’s new pussycat, whoooaaaa!”

“You play that I will murder you,” Calypso said. “How about A2?”

“You can’t play _Hey Jude_ this early, that’s more of a two o’clock-everyone-is-drunk-and-crying song,” he said. “Ooh, that one!” Leo hit the button before Calypso could argue. _Disco Inferno_ by the Trammps blared through the bar.

“Seriously?” Calypso almost had to yell to be heard over the music.

“Who doesn’t love disco?” Leo replied, grabbing one of her hands and spinning her. She shook her head, trying not to laugh.

Leo shimmied towards her, ridiculous grin on his face. Calypso gave into the urge to laugh, reaching out to steady herself on his shoulder. “You’re a terrible dancer!”

“Aww, come on, I totally have moves,” he argued, doing the sprinkler. “You just don’t know how to keep up with me, Sunshine.”

“Oh really?” she asked, putting her hands above her head and starting to move her hips to the music. “You want to put some money on that?”

“How about loser brings the beer to game night?” Leo offered.

Calypso grinned. “Get ready to stop by the liquor store, because you are going down!”

 

 

She hid her face in her hands the next day as Reyna gleefully showed her the video of her dance-off with Leo over their traditional post-night-out hangover breakfast. “Make it stop!”

“No way,” Reyna replied. “I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in years. This is my new favorite video.”

Putting her head down on her kitchen counter, Calypso let out a long sigh. “Okay, but we only keyed in one song on the jukebox. Who put on _Boogie Wonderland_?”

“Piper,” Reyna replied, restarting the video. “And Frank cued up _Dancing Queen_ for after that.”

Calypso glared up at her. “That video doesn’t have _Dancing Queen_.”

“That’s because you grabbed me and said it was a girl power dance song, so Frank filmed that one. He was supposed to send me the video,” Reyna frowned, sending a quick text. “He better send it to me, I want to put these all on a YouTube channel.”

“I hate you,” Calypso groaned, reaching for her half-filled coffee cup. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

“You were having fun,” she shrugged. “And smiling more than you have since the whole Percy thing happened. I wasn’t going to stop you,” Reyna pulled on her leather jacket and slid off the stool she sat on at the counter. “I’ve got to go, Frank and I agreed to meet this afternoon at the archery range across town. Drink more water, okay?”

“No YouTube channel!” Calypso called after her. Reyna just waved before closing the apartment door.

 

 

One game night with Frank, Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel, Nico, Will, and Reyna became going to Sunday brunch with the whole group the following weekend, then joining Piper and Hazel for a night of superhero movies, then attending a yoga class with Frank, Will, and Reyna, and by the time a full month had passed, Calypso and Reyna had become card-carrying members of their friend group.

“Okay, but Jason knows that’s usually just an expression, right?” Calypso asked Leo and Hazel one evening when she stopped into _Olympus_ on her way home from work. “Like, most people don’t actually make laminated cards saying that people are a part of a group.”

“We’ve tried explaining that to him,” Hazel replied, wiping down part of the counter. “He said he likes to make sure people feel included in friendships.”

“He also just really likes laminating things,” Leo commented. “I got home one time and found out he had laminated all the take-out menus people kept pushing under the door. When I made fun of him for it he told me I had to turn in my friendship card.”

“Did you?” Calypso asked, grinning over her glass.

He shook his head. “Nah, I bought him a paper shredder and told him we could test it with the laminated menus. Ended up having a super fun weekend after that.”

“Boys are so weird,” Hazel rolled her eyes. “You’d never catch girls shredding laminated things just to find out how well it worked.”

“Piper was there for most of it, trying to convince us to try and shred a cookie sheet,” Leo told her. “Only reason we didn’t is because the tray wouldn’t fit in the shredder.”

“How are you all still alive?” Calypso wondered. “Pretty sure natural selection probably should have weeded you out by now.”

“Natural selection wouldn’t dare, not when I’m this awesome,” Leo replied, leaning across the bar towards her. “Besides, you’d miss me if I wasn’t around.”

“No promises,” she muttered. “Wasn’t Piper supposed to work tonight?”

“She switched with me so Frank and I can go out on our anniversary Thursday night,” Hazel replied. “You’d still have been stuck with Leo.”

He let out a long-suffering sigh and stared out across the mostly empty bar. “Someday someone will appreciate me.”

Hazel patted his shoulder. “I believe in you,” she glanced over at the door as a small group of people entered. “I got these ones.”

Leo grinned at Calypso. “So, when are we going to have our next dance-off?”

“Hopefully never,” she told him, toying with the straw in her soda. “Reyna still has her ringtone for me set to _Dancing Queen_.”

“How do you explain that one at work?”

Calypso laughed a little. “I tell people I used to take dance classes.”

“Well, you are a decent disco dancer,” Leo smirked. “I’d buy it.”

She shook her head and pushed the glass across the bar towards him. “I should be heading home. Hope it picks up here so you won’t all die of boredom.”

“I’ll text you if I need entertainment,” Leo promised.

She shrugged the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Yeah, please don’t.”

 

 

Settling down on her couch under three blankets a few nights later, Calypso smiled to herself as she hit play on the movie she had queued up on Netflix. As the title credits rolled, her phone buzzed with a text.

_McShizzle Bad Boy Supreme: The bar is dead tonight come visit_

**No. I’m having a night at home.**

_McShizzle Bad Boy Supreme: I’ll give you free drinks_

**Watching a movie, Leo. Not leaving home.**

_McShizzle Bad Boy Supreme: You can control the jukebox_

**Still not leaving. When did you change your contact in my phone?**

_McShizzle Bad Boy Supreme: You’re missing out on seeing me practice juggling bottles._

**Wow the bar must be dead. How many bottles have you broken so far?** She navigated into her contacts, fixing his name and completely missing the beginning scenes of her movie.

_Leo Valdez: Only two and they were empty due to Hazel’s order that I don’t ruin anything we could sell_

**Smart woman.**

_Leo Valdez: Please come hang out? Hazel’s doing paperwork and the new bouncer is working tonight and I can’t annoy him like I can Jason_

Calypso sighed, hitting pause on Netflix. **You owe me a drink and I get to control the jukebox.**

_Leo Valdez: You are the best I’m sorry I ever said you weren’t worthy of disco you’re my favorite oh god I think I just broke another bottle_

“You really weren’t kidding,” Calypso observed when she walked into the empty bar thirty minutes later. “Are Tuesdays usually like this?”

Leo looked up from a pile of shot glasses he was stacking in a pyramid. “Not this bad. Usually we at least have one or two old drunks who sit in the corner at talk to themselves.”

She sat down on a stool across from him. “How’s the juggling going?”

He made a face. “Hazel said I couldn’t try anymore. Apparently three broken bottles in one night is too many.”

“Imagine that,” she teased, leaning her elbows on the counter. “It’s like she doesn’t want broken glass all over the floor.”

He ignored her, adding a paper umbrella to the top of his stack of glasses. “What did you want for your free drink?”

She shrugged. “Something fruity. Use your bartender skills and surprise me.”

He grinned. “Dangerous words, Sunshine.” Leo started mixing vodka, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice. He shook the combination before pouring it over ice and sliding the glass over to her. “It’s called a Sea Breeze,” he told her. “Very popular in the summer.”

She took a careful sip, nodding her approval. “Not bad. So what do you usually do on quiet nights? You don’t usually text me.”

“Usually Jason is working, so we play cards until people show up,” Leo admitted.

Calypso nodded. “You have the cards back there?”

He pulled a deck out from a drawer under the register. “Always keep a deck on hand.” Leo started to shuffle the cards, forming a bridge before letting them settle back into a block.

“What’s the game?” she asked.

He started separating the deck into two piles, one directly in front of her. “War?”

“Sure,” she replied. “Usual rules?”

“Plus when you lose a card, you have to say something the other person doesn’t know about you,” Leo said, placing the last few cards in their respective piles. “Keeps conversation going.”

“Alright,” she said, slipping off her stool. “But first we need music.” Calypso went over to the jukebox and dropped in a dollar to key in three songs. As Whitney Houston blared through the bar, she rejoined Leo at the counter.

She won the first card. Leo thought for a moment. “I learned to work on cars when I was six. My mom taught me.”

“Isn’t six kind of young?” she asked as she won the next card.

“Maybe,” he admitted. “But I was always hanging around her at her garage, so it wasn’t like I had anything else to do.”

“I have a garden on my balcony,” she told him when he won his first card. “I bring the plants inside once it starts to get cold outside.”

“I named my first car Festus.”

“I used to make my own dresses.”

“Needles freak me out.”

“I’m mostly vegetarian, but sometimes I cheat and have a cheeseburger.”

“Don’t tell Piper that one,” Leo teased. “She’ll never let you live it down.”

“I’m still waiting to hear the ABBA Halloween story,” she replied, taking his next card. The jukebox switched over to the next song.

Leo winced. “The only way I’m telling that story is if it’s my only alibi for being falsely accused of a crime.”

“Fine. I once almost got a butterfly tramp stamp,” Calypso admitted as he took her card.

“No way!” he grinned. “That sounds like a good story.”

“I was dating this guy at the time who was really into tattoos,” she said. “I scheduled a meeting with an artist, but then he broke up with me a day before the appointment. Decided I probably didn’t want a physical reminder of him after that.”

“I once dated a girl who literally referred to herself as the Ice Queen,” Leo supplied. “Imagine why that one didn’t work.”

“Is it because you literally call yourself Hot Stuff?” she asked, taking his card.

He ignored her. “That was actually probably my best relationship so far, sadly.”

“I bet I can beat you for sad relationship stories,” Calypso said, mouth curling wryly at the corner. “Four different guys, basically the same routine each time.”

“Go on,” he said, taking her card.

She handed him her next card too. “First was Dan, who told me he was over his ex. We were together for about seven months until he told me that no, he wasn’t actually over her, and he was leaving me to go ask her to marry him.”

Leo winced. “Ouch.”

“Then was Nick,” she continued, handing over another low card. “Who after four months told me that I was fun, but he had to get back to reality and look for something with some real potential.”

“What a dick,” he said as the song switched to the last she had queued.

Calypso nodded, taking a quick sip of her drink. “Then Drake, who I found naked with another girl on his couch after we were together six months.”

“Okay, hold on,” Leo said, eyebrows pulled together as he frowned. “These guys are all the worst kind of idiot. You are awesome and gorgeous and deserve way better than all that.”

She shrugged. “Thanks. I just have really bad taste in men, apparently.”

They swapped cards in silence for a few minutes before realizing the jukebox was playing random selections. Calypso went over to queue up another two dollars’ worth of songs while Leo grabbed a beer for himself.

“So, uh, what happened with guy number four?” Leo asked. “If you want to talk about it.”

Calypso frowned at her dwindling pile of cards. “We weren’t fully together yet, more just going in that direction. We’d hang out at each other’s apartments all the time and we went on some dates and kissed a few times, and, I mean, I thought that I had finally found a really good guy. And then just as I was getting ready to have the what-are-we conversation, he told me that he thought we were better off as just friends. And then last I heard he had gotten together with some childhood friend that he reconnected with.”

 “That is some bad luck,” he replied, taking another card from her. “But, again, he sounds like an idiot.”

She shrugged. “Or maybe I’m just not someone that people fall in love with.”

“Bullshit,” he said lightly, taking her last card. “You’d be easy to love.”

They both realized what he said a moment later, both blushing as they avoided each other’s eyes. “Uh, I mean, you know, you’re a great person,” Leo stammered, hands drumming rapidly on the counter. He accidently swiped some of his cards onto the floor, still talking as he ducked down to pick them back up. “Anyone would be lucky to date you. You’re a catch,” he said, standing back up with an awkward wink. “Shit, did not mean to wink. Winking is creepy. I could hug you? No, hugging is weird right now. Um, another free drink?”

She laughed at his confusion, covering her eyes with her hand. “Stop, stop! We’re good! Thank you for the pep talk!”

He grinned, leaning against the counter towards her again. “Leo Valdez, Bad Boy Supreme and Ultimate Motivator, is always happy to help.”

She grinned back at him, ignoring the warmth in her stomach from the alcohol in her drink. “I’m still not calling you any of those ridiculous nicknames.”

 

 

_Bad Boy Supreme: Are you coming to movie night???_

**Yes?**

_Bad Boy Supreme: Will you bring popcorn? I might have accidently burned the whole bag we bought_

**No more burning things until I get there**


	2. Part 2

“You do have other friends, right?” Calypso joked as she slid onto her usual bar stool on another slow evening. “You don’t have to text just me every time you’re bored at work.”

Leo passed her the glass of lemonade she preferred on nights when she had work the next morning before she even had to ask. “Jason and Piper are having a date night, Hazel is doing manager stuff in the office, Frank and Reyna went to some fight club thing, Will has night school, and you always at least reply to my texts. You win that competition, Sunshine.”

Calypso lifted one eyebrow while sipping her lemonade. “Reyna and Frank went to a fight club?”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Fight club, mixed martial arts class, same difference.”

“Well, one is illegal the other isn’t,” Calypso commented. “But you know, I wouldn’t be surprised either way. At least by Reyna, I have a hard time seeing Frank at a fight club.”

“That’s why he’d be there,” Leo replied, shuffling the deck of cards he kept handy for these nights. “Actually, he’d be there to try to break up the fights. He’s too goody-goody to get involved.”

“I’ll make sure I tell him that next time I see him,” she promised. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate your view of his character.”

Leo shrugged, continuing to shuffle.

Calypso frowned, setting her glass down on the bar. She watched him deal out the cards in silence, noting a little crinkle in his skin between his eyebrows. Straightening out her cards before they began to play, she kept her eyes on the bar. “You okay?”

He shrugged again and nodded, fingers tapping against the edge of the counter. “Just a long day, no big deal.”

Calypso let the conversation go as they began flipping cards and handing off the lower one to the winner. After about five cards, Leo sighed. “Tell me something new that’s happened lately? I’m in a rut.”

“Reyna and I met Piper’s new friend Annabeth the other day,” Calypso offered. “You know, that girl she met in her apartment’s work out room? She seems super cool- I think she’s actually coming here tomorrow with the rest of the group.”

“What’s she like?”

“Blonde, about my height, crazy smart,” Calypso said, handing him another card. “She works at an architecture firm across town.”

“Should Jason be prepping another friendship card?”

Calypso shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind her being around more. Like I said, she’s pretty cool.”

 

Calypso left work later than planned the next night, making her late for meeting her friends at the bar. She checked her messages on the way to _Olympus_ , finding five from Reyna.

_R: Hey where are you everyone else is here_

_R: We started without you btw so you’ll need to take at least two shots to catch up right away_

_R: Annabeth brought her boyfriend and he’s super attractive you know I prefer girls but damn I’d consider this guy_

_R: Three shots now if you want to catch up_

_R: Where are you???_

She slid her phone back into her purse as she entered _Olympus,_ looking around for the group. She saw Annabeth and Reyna at the usual table by the jukebox and began to make her way through the crowded bar.

A tall man with windblown dark hair slid up beside Annabeth while Calypso watched, draping an arm around the blonde’s waist. His bright orange t-shirt covered broad shoulders and a chest that narrowed towards the hips: a swimmer’s body. Calypso slowed slightly, stopping completely once she caught sight of his face. The last time she had seen that face in person, he’d been telling her that they would probably be better off as just friends. She suddenly had a hard time getting air into her lungs.

Before she even realized it, she had gone back through the door and out into the humid summer evening.

She leaned against the side of the building, pressing her bare shoulders into the bricks. Sighing, she looked up at the sky.

“Hey, you okay?” Reyna asked, coming outside to lean beside her. “I saw you run back out.”

“Annabeth’s boyfriend is Percy,” she replied. “She’s who he chose over me.”

Reyna sighed. “Okay, look, maybe it’s because I definitely have already had a few more tequila shots than I probably should, but I’m actually going to give you some advice. And I mean what I’m about to say, so listen up.”

“Yeah, it sucks that Percy chose to date some other girl after the two of you had already basically started getting together,” Reyna continued, letting her shoulder touch Calypso’s. “That was pretty shitty of him, especially since you two probably could have been pretty good together. But him choosing someone else doesn’t mean that you aren’t an awesome person or that you won’t ever find someone that will love you. It just isn’t him.”

“It’s not just Percy,” Calypso muttered, running a hand across her eyes. “There was Dan, and Nick, and Drake too. I’m never enough to keep people around.”

“Hey, I’m still around,” Reyna reminded her. “And so is Rachel Elizabeth, and you know you’re never going to get rid of Leo, Hazel, Frank, Piper, or Jason now, right? You have a literal friendship card in your purse that proves it. So stop feeling sorry for yourself because some idiots didn’t want to be in love with you. You are awesome, and no one changes that.”

“But Annabeth-”

“Probably has no idea that she’s dating a guy who broke your heart and yeah, that will be awkward until you all get past the fact that you and Percy have a history, but you’ll get through it,” Reyna said. “And don’t you dare start comparing yourself to her, because you are two completely different people and it’s so stupid to compare yourself to anyone who isn’t yourself. All that matters is that you’re better than who you used to be. Are you better than you were a year ago?”

“I guess?”

“Then that’s all that should matter,” Reyna spoke as if she was declaring a verdict in a courtroom. “Now, I will stay out here with you until you’re ready to go inside, but we are going to go inside. The people in there are our friends, and we are not missing out on a fun night with them just because one of your exes has shown up.”

Calypso was quiet for a moment before nudging Reyna’s shoulder with hers. “You’re actually really good at advice.”

“Don’t expect me to make it a habit,” Reyna replied, leading the way back towards the door of the bar. “Now come on. It’ll be like tearing off a band-aid.”

Reyna stayed by her side- possibly to make sure she didn’t have another moment of panic and run outside again- as they approached the table where Annabeth, Percy, Piper, and Frank waited. Calypso smiled in response to her friends’ greetings before facing Percy, smile still fixed in place.

“So, you’re Annabeth’s boyfriend,” she said as casually as she could with her heart beating in her throat. “What are the odds?”

“You know each other?” Annabeth asked.

Percy nodded, arm still around his girlfriend. “Yeah, it’s been a while. How’ve you been?”

“Good,” Calypso rushed to say. “You?”

“Good,” he echoed. He seemed at a loss as to how to continue.

Piper watched the exchange with slightly narrowed eyes. “So, Calypso, what did your boss think of the article pitch?”

“He loved it,” Calypso replied, turning away from Percy with relief. “Only problem is now I actually have to go to all five of those gyms to review them. Remind me why I thought that would be a good idea?”

Piper and Reyna grinned. “It’ll be fine,” Piper assured her. “I’m still looking for a new gym since I am so tired of the tiny workout room at my apartment, so I’ll go with you. We’ll use some treadmills, maybe try a spin class, it’ll be great.”

Calypso shuddered. “Only you would talk about spin classes like they could be fun,” she glanced over at the bar, seeing an opening near where Leo was mixing drinks. “I’m getting a drink, anyone need anything?”

After receiving a negative from everyone at the table, Calypso made her way through the Friday night crowd to the bar. She waved at Leo as he finished pouring beers for a group of guys in polo shirts. He moved down to her, flashing her a grin. “Hey Sunshine! What’ll it be?”

“A strawberry margarita on the rocks and you to stop calling me Sunshine,” she replied, leaning her elbows on the bar. She rubbed her forehead as Leo prepared the drink, already dreading returning to the table and having to try to make more awkward conversation with Percy.

She looked up when Leo slid her drink across the counter. “You okay? I saw you run out earlier,” his eyes were serious while his fingers drummed against the bar.

“Remember guy number four who broke my heart?” Calypso asked quietly, leaning towards him so their conversation wouldn’t be overheard. He leaned his elbows on the bar and nodded. “Turns out he’s Annabeth’s boyfriend.”

“Shit,” Leo hissed. “Need me to beat him up?”

“Pretty sure he would destroy you,” she told him. “But thanks for the offer.”

“You’re forgetting how many fights I get into,” Leo replied. “I know how to beat someone up.”

She sipped her drink. “You also lose probably at least half those fights. Jason usually is the one to take care of it.”

“I bet I could still take him,” Leo muttered. “Seriously, say the word.”

Calypso shook her head, ignoring the warm feeling in her chest over his defense of her. “I’m good. I’m going to be a mature adult about this whole thing and learn to be his friend.”

“I could mess with his car?” Leo offered. “I mean, obviously I wouldn’t really hurt it, but I could do something to it that would confuse him and be harmless but expensive?”

She laughed for the first time that evening, reaching out to give his wrist a quick squeeze before pulling away again. “Seriously, thank you. I’ll be okay.”

 

 

Calypso looked up at the knock on the side of her cubicle, blinking as she tried to get her eyes to focus on something other than her computer screen. Reyna dropped a black iPhone onto her desk and nodded at it. “Leo left it at my place last night after game night. Think you could get it back to him? You’ll probably see him sooner than I will.”

She nodded, rubbing her forehead. “Yeah, sure. I don’t think he’s working at the bar again until Thursday though.”

“Do you have everyone’s work schedules memorized?” Reyna asked, leaning against the opening of the cubicle.

“What?”

“Do you have everyone’s work schedules memorized?” she repeated. “Or just Leo’s?”

Calypso sighed and saved what she’d been writing before shutting down her computer. “I don’t have Leo’s schedule memorized. I just know when he works because he texts me every time he gets bored at work.”

“Mhmm,” Reyna hummed dryly. “Well, you’re checking out Arena Gym today, right? I’m pretty sure that’s right by the garage where he works.”

Calypso typed in the address for the gym and compared it to the location of the garage. “Looks like it’s just a block or two away,” she confirmed. “I’ll drop it off on my way.”

“Thanks,” Reyna said, straightening up from her lean. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” Calypso replied, packing up her purse and grabbing the small duffle that held her work-out clothes and shoes. She dropped Leo’s phone into her purse and headed out the building to hail a cab.

Fifteen minutes later she paid the driver and got out at Bunker 11 Auto. Air conditioning blasted her as she went into the office part of the shop, smiling pleasantly at the man sitting behind the computer. “Hi, I’m looking for Leo Valdez?”

The man nodded towards the door leading to the work space part of the building. “He’s working on the white convertible. If you can’t see him, check for legs under the car.”

“Thanks,” she replied, going into the garage. Humid August air swamped her again as she made her way over to a white convertible with its hood open. Someone in a black tank top and coveralls tied up around his waist leaned over the engine, muscles shifting in his back as he worked. He pulled away from the engine and stretched, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while setting down a wrench with the other. He turned to face the rest of the garage, face lighting up when he saw Calypso headed his way.

“Hey Sunshine,” he grinned at her, rubbing a stained towel over his greasy hands. “What’re you doing here?”

If it hadn’t been for that stupid nickname, she might not have registered that this was Leo. Something about him was so different from all the other times she had seen him that she would have thought the person in front of her was someone she had never met.

Maybe it was the way he carried himself, like he felt most at home here among the cars and mess of tools and oil and the old rock music blaring from a radio. Maybe it was how his black tank top showed off the lean muscles in his arms and clung to his body. Maybe it was the smear of oil and dirt across one cheekbone and how it made him look the tiniest bit like real trouble- the kind of trouble that a girl would follow willingly into heartbreak.

Whatever it was, Calypso found it all too distracting.

She blinked, hand clenching on the strap of her purse. “Uh, you, uh, forgot your phone at Reyna’s last night,” she finally replied, pulling it out of her bag and holding it out to him. “I had to come out this way to hit the next gym I’m reviewing, so she asked me to drop it off.”

“How is the article going?” he asked, taking his phone from her and sticking it in the hip pocket of the coveralls that were tied off at his waist.

“Okay,” she replied, watching as he dropped the towel on a small wheeled table and picked up a water bottle instead. “If I have to go to one more spin class I might die, but otherwise it’s alright. I found out I actually like cross-trainers and most of the yoga classes have been pretty good.”

“Plus you get out of the office and can visit your devilishly handsome mechanic friends and say it was part of the job,” Leo said with a wink.

Calypso ignored him, cheeks a little warm. “What are you working on?”

“Just replacing the carburetor and doing a general check-up,” he told her. “It’s my last car of the day, though, so then I’ll be able to spend some time with Festus.”

“Okay, what is Festus?” she asked. “You’ve talked about it before and I know it’s a car, but what is it?”

Leo lit up like she had just asked the best question that could ever be asked. “Do you want to see him?”

When he smiled that bright, she realized she’d probably agree to anything just to see him stay that happy. “Sure.”

He led her to the back of the garage and into a corner by a retractable door where a couple of cars sat covered in tarps. Going to the car closest to the door, he pulled off the tarp with a flourish. “Calypso, meet Festus.”

Calypso didn’t know much about cars in any way, but even she could tell that Festus was a beauty. Painted a bright cherry red, the car shone under the lights of the garage. The front was longer than modern cars, and the trunk space was undoubtedly small. Two doors opened into the black leather interior. Leo leaned against the side of the car and beamed.

“He’s a 1973 Pontiac Firebird,” he said, as if that information would mean anything to her. “Eight cylinders and 175 horsepower. I bought him right after I finished my auto mechanic certification. Best money I ever spent.”

“Why do you keep him at the garage?” she asked, not even noticing she too had referred to the car more as a person than an object.

Leo shrugged. “You don’t park a classic on the street in front of an apartment, for one. Two, it helps bring in business sometimes. On nice days I’ll park Festus out in front of the garage and people will stop by just to look and then realize they do need something done on their car. My boss says we bring in enough extra on those days that I can keep Festus here for free.”

“That’s great,” Calypso murmured, stepping closer to the car and looking through the window at the interior. “Do you drive often?”

“Not as often as I’d like,” he admitted, running a gentle hand over the hardtop of the car.

She watched him, noticing the soft smile on his face and the way he touched the car like it was a living thing- a family pet, maybe. Something warm started to form in her chest as she blurted out “How much more do you need to do on the other car?”

Leo jerked his head up to look at her, confusion all over his face. “Uh, not much more? I have one more wire to reconnect and then just making sure everything’s clean and good to go.”

“Go finish,” she said. “And then we’re going for a drive.”

The grin he gave her was even brighter than the last one.

 _Oh no,_ whispered a little voice in her head.

 

 

“Calypso, when was the last time you dated someone?” Piper asked as she passed over a vodka sour.

Calypso almost dropped the drink. “Uh, god, um, last winter? Why?”

“So Percy was the last time you dated?” Piper clarified.

“Why does it matter?” she asked again.

Piper shrugged. “Have you thought about dating again?”

Calypso set down her drink and leaned in over the bar. “Okay, seriously, what’s with the sudden interest in my dating life?”

“Can’t I just wonder about my friend’s dating life?”

“Piper,” she took a quick second to decide what she wanted to say. “I don’t have a dating life. My dating life to this point has consisted of bad choices and guys who break my heart just as I think things are getting good. Percy is an exception, but he and Annabeth are definitely way better together than we ever would have been. I appreciate your concern, but I really don’t need to be dating right now.”

“What if it was a good guy who really loves you?” Piper asked. “Hypothetically.”

Calypso laughed dryly and shook her head. “Sure, if an honest, good guy who loves me came along, sure, I’d give it a shot. But in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t exactly have a line of that kind of guy at my door, so it’s basically a moot point.”

“Do I hear bitterness in there?” Piper asked, one eyebrow lifting.

“No,” Calypso replied, picking up her drink and preparing to move back to the table where Leo, Frank, and Hazel waited for her. “You hear exhaustion with dating. Will you please drop this?”

Piper frowned and nodded. Calypso smiled at her before returning to their other friends. “Anyone know why Piper would be suddenly interested in my dating life?”

She sensed Leo tense up beside her while Frank shook his head and Hazel shrugged. “Piper likes to play matchmaker,” Hazel replied. “She acts tough but she’s really a total romantic.”

“Well, she can keep me out of matchmaking plans,” Calypso replied. “I am just fine on my own.”

“You’re a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man,” Frank agreed.

“Cheers to that,” Hazel and Calypso tapped their glasses together before drinking.

“What’s the music tonight, oh King of the Jukebox?” Calypso asked Leo with a grin.

“Eighties pop,” he replied, smirking into his beer bottle. “Should be starting up after this song ends.”

They chatted carelessly until Leo’s queued music began, everyone groaning when they recognized the opening chords of Toni Basil’s _Mickey_. Leo laughed as he started to jump to the beat. Calypso couldn’t help laughing with him.

“No videos this time, Frank,” she warned before grabbing Leo’s hand and dragging him towards the open space by the jukebox, twirling under his arm as they bounced together.

With friends like these, why would she want any other relationship?

 

 

“Drive safe!” Calypso closed the door behind Annabeth, Percy, and Reyna as they left her apartment after a marathon of Halloween movies in preparation for the holiday later in the month. She returned to the living room and collapsed onto the couch, rolling her head to look at Leo still sitting at the other end. “When’s your train scheduled?”

“Another forty minutes,” he said. “I can leave now if you want the place to yourself?”

She shook her head, stretching out so her feet were in his lap. “Stay. You can keep me awake so I’ll actually clean things up tonight instead of in the morning.”

He started tapping his fingers on her ankle. They sat in the quiet for a moment, Calypso leaning her head against the back of the couch and watching Leo’s hands. “What’s that rhythm you always tap?”

“Hmm?” he asked, clearly thinking of something else. “Oh, uh, Morse code. I learned it as a kid. Mom and I used to talk through our walls at night until I fell asleep.”

She smiled softly, imagining little Leo with too much curly hair for his head lying in a bed with superhero sheets and tapping on the walls. “You still remember it?”

“Bits of it,” he nodded, still tapping. “Not as much as I used to know.”

They sat in silence again for a few moments. “What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?” Calypso asked.

He grinned. “I was a campfire one year.”

“A campfire?”

“Yeah, I even carried marshmallows on skewers with me like I was making s’mores off myself,” he told her, tickling her ankles until she yanked her feet away. “Definitely the most fun. You?”

“I was the Little Mermaid one year,” she said, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch and throwing him an end as she covered her legs. “But it was freezing, so my parents made me wear a coat over it, which really upset me because I was so sure no one would see my costume under the coat. So before I went up to each house I’d make my dad take my coat and I’d run up to the door and then run back and he’d instantly cover me up again.”

Leo laughed. “Okay, that sounds a little like you were flashing the neighbors as a child.”

“You know, it probably looked that way, now that I think about it,” she giggled. “But I loved that costume. I think I held onto it for years, thinking I’d wear it again.”

“Did you ever?”

“God no,” she replied. “I grew out of it within like six months. But I am really great at denial, so I kept believing it would magically fit again.”

“Worst costume?”

She winced. “I went as a mime to a party one year in high school.”

“Jason and I went as the princes from _Into The Woods_ the year after the movie came out.”

“Please tell me you have pictures.”

“I burned them all.”

“I bet Piper saved some.”

“Oh god, I hope you’re wrong.”

Calypso cackled as she sent a quick text to Piper. Seconds later a picture came through in response. “Oh my god, you even did the torn open shirts!”

Leo leaned back into the couch and groaned, his face in his hands.

 

Calypso woke up on her couch the next morning, something heavy draped over her legs. She looked down to see a dark head of curls resting on the blanket on her thigh. Leo was still fast asleep, curled up at the end of the couch with barely any of the blanket over him.

Very carefully, she moved out from under him and slid off the couch. Grabbing a blanket from the pile she kept on an armchair, she gently placed a quilt over him. A warm feeling spread through her chest as she looked at him sleeping, following the slope of his nose and the curve of his smile with her eyes. She reached out as if to touch him before jerking her hand back to herself, eyes wide with a sudden understanding.

She left him covered in a blanket on her couch and quietly went to her bedroom, leaning against the closed door once she was inside. Her heart felt like it was trying to escape her chest, beating too hard against her ribs. She took several deep breaths, trying to get herself under control.

He wasn’t her type- he wasn’t suave or particularly tall or broad and he didn’t make her feel delicate or like everything would be easy as long as he was in her life. He had a weird sense of humor and was a klutz and couldn’t sit still to save his life. He insisted on calling himself ridiculous nicknames and called her Sunshine and made her laugh and loved disco music and was there for her without judgement when she needed someone. He felt real in a way very few people in her life ever did and she knew she could trust him and his laugh could always get her to smile and he took her for drives in his classic car and checked in on her and _when had she fallen in love with him_?

She slid to the floor and sat down with her arms around her knees. Continuing to take deep, soothing breaths, she began to hit her head against her knees.

Calypso had been through this too many times before. She knew what happened when she loved someone. Soon, Leo would leave her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a link to the kind of car Festus is: https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1973-pontiac-firebird


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who has no self control and posts things as soon as she finishes them?

_Bad Boy Supreme: Guess who actually has a Friday night off for once???_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Want to go to that new drive-in movie place? Let’s show off Festus!_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Hey everything ok?_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Did you lose your phone?_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Did someone steal your phone?_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Hello phone thief, please return Calypso’s phone_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Seriously are you ok I haven’t heard from you in like a week_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Talked to Piper so I hear you’re not dead which is good to know_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Almost set a microwave on fire today Jason says I’m not allowed to cook without supervision anymore_

_Bad Boy Supreme: It’s a slow night at the bar if you want to stop by_

_Bad Boy Supreme: I miss you_

_Bad Boy Supreme: Sorry ignore last text_

Calypso ignored her phone buzzing on her nightstand. She hadn’t replied to any of Leo’s texts since the night they stayed out on her couch a little over two weeks previously. She needed time to figure out how to handle being around him while knowing that she loved him and he more than likely did not feel the same.

Reyna had laughed for about five minutes straight when Calypso confessed the reason she’d been avoiding the bar. “This is great,” she said, wiping tears out of her eyes and still grinning. “Oh man, I can’t wait to see this play out.”

“So glad you enjoy my suffering,” Calypso replied dryly. “So glad I have such a supportive friend.”

Reyna slung an arm around her shoulders. “Calypso, you know I have your back any time and every time. If he hurts you-”

“When he hurts me,” she corrected.

Reyna ignored her. “-you know I will kick his scrawny ass all the way back to Texas. But I really don’t think that is something you need to worry about.”

“Sure, because it’s not like I have a pattern or anything,” Calypso replied sarcastically.

Reyna shook her head. “Leo doesn’t fit your usual pattern in any way, so just trust me on this one, okay?”

Now, two days after that conversation, Calypso still wasn’t sure how to deal with her feelings. She had curled up in bed with a book that she pretended to read while instead mentally obsessing over all the unanswered text messages from Leo. The phone buzzed again as she tried to actually see the words on the page in front of her. Admitting defeat, she closed the book and set it on the nightstand. Grabbing her laptop, she started up a show on Netflix.

Two episodes into the second season of _Crazy Ex-Girlfriend_ , someone started banging on her door as if they might break it down if she didn’t answer. She threw her blankets off and grabbed her robe from the closet, covering up the tank top and boy shorts she usually wore to bed.

Calypso hurried over to the door, hastily tying the front of her robe closed. “I’m coming! Hold on!”

She pulled open the door, catching Leo before he began another round of incessant knocking. His hair was even more of a mess than usual, he had a smear of grease on his cheekbone, and his shirt was only partially tucked into his jeans. His keys were still in his hand, the ring on one of his fingers while the keys jingled in his palm. He looked her straight in the eyes as she opened the door, more serious than she usually saw him.

The sight of him knocked the breath out of her lungs.

“Okay, Sunshine, we need to talk,” Leo said as he slid his keys off his finger and into a pocket. “Can I come in?”

Calypso stepped to the side, motioning for him to go inside. He strode past her and waited while she closed the door, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. She took a deep breath before turning to face him again, trying to decide what she could say to make things feel normal.

Leo started talking as soon as she looked at him again. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on. You haven’t been replying to any of my texts or phone calls and you even ignored that picture I sent you of me covered in kittens from last week, which should have at least gotten an emoji in response. Did I do something that upset you? Are you mad at me? Is something wrong?”

“Leo,” Calypso started.

“’Cause I have been wracking my brains- not a small feat, let me tell you- and I can’t think of a single thing that happened out of the ordinary lately. I mean, two weeks ago we were hanging out and watching movies and everything was fine and then it was like you just vanished.”

“Leo,” she tried again.

“But you just vanished for me! Piper and Hazel and even Percy have all heard from you more than I have these last two weeks. Do you know how much it sucks having to hear about how you’re doing from someone else? I shouldn’t have to get news about you from other people, that’s not how friendship works.”

“Leo!”

“Look, just tell me if I did something stupid- I’ll try my best not to do it again. I mean, obviously it might happen again because I’m kind of an idiot sometimes but I’ll try, Calypso, I promise-”

“LEO!” Calypso yelled, finally getting his attention. “Just shut up for one second! You didn’t do anything, I’m just- I don’t know- working through some things.”

“Then why haven’t I heard from you?” he demanded. “Even if you’re working through something, I can help. Or you could send a one letter reply or an emoji or something so I know you don’t hate me.”

She rubbed her forehead, sighing as she sank down onto her couch. “I definitely don’t hate you.”

“Then what’s been going on?” Leo asked again, sitting down next to her. He reached out to put a hand on her knee. “What’s wrong?”

Calypso sighed again, leaning against his shoulder. She closed her eyes and let herself pretend for a moment that what she would say next wouldn’t send him running back out the door. His hand stayed on her knee and he let his cheek rest on her hair. Biting the inside of her cheek, she tried to imprint the moment in her memory for when he left.

“I did something stupid,” Calypso finally murmured.

“My level of stupid or normal people level of stupid?” Leo asked.

She couldn’t help the little smile he caused. “Probably somewhere in between.”

“Well, I bet we can fix it,” he told her. “What did you do?”

She stayed silent for another moment, taking deep breaths to keep from panicking. “I, um, I fell in love with you.”

The dishwasher running in the kitchen became the only sound in the apartment. Calypso could feel the second Leo heard what she said, his muscles tensing up and whole body freezing. She slowly began to count in her head. At the count of seven Leo’s leg started bouncing and his hand on her knee moved away.

“Sorry,” he said, and her heart began to sink in her chest. “I think I must have zoned out or something because I’m pretty sure I heard you say you loved me.”

She sat up straight again before moving over to the corner of the couch and drawing up her legs to hug them against her hollow chest. “I did.”

His leg continued to bounce, his fingers drumming a beat along the edge of the couch cushion. “You love me?”

“Look, it’s not a big deal, we can pretend I didn’t say anything,” she said, not looking up from her knees. “I’ll just stay away from the bar for a while and you don’t have to say anything, it’s fine. You can leave, okay, you don’t need to stay and-”

She was cut off by the sudden weight of Leo half on top of her as he flung his arms around her and leaned his head against hers. Calypso let her feet slowly return to the floor and he rearranged himself so his arms were wrapped around her waist and his head rested on her shoulder.

“If you think you’re getting rid of me now, you have a whole other thing coming,” he told her, giving her the brightest grin she’d ever seen. “I’m probably just going to live on your couch and make you tacos all the time and get car oil on all your blankets.”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“I’m also definitely going to talk about this a lot,” he continued, absently tapping her side with his fingertips. “I might even take out an ad in the newspaper. Or on the radio. Or maybe I’ll just get a skywriter and text Jason and Piper repeatedly.”

“You’re not leaving?”

“Of course I’m not leaving!” he pulled back slightly to look at her. “You love me, which is the best thing I’ve heard in probably ever. I was so sure that you’d never love me back, so this is most likely the best day of my life. Well, tied with when I first got Festus. No, you beat Festus.”

“You love me?” she asked, her voice soft as she still wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You love me too?”

Leo stopped fidgeting for a moment, his hand no longer tapping out rhythms. “Wait, did I not say that earlier?”

“No,” her hands twitched in her lap. “You didn’t.”

She finally looked at Leo as he carefully moved them both so they faced each other on the couch. He reached out and took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together. He ducked his head slightly to make sure she couldn’t avoid eye contact.

“Calypso,” he said, eyes and voice warm and steady. “I am in love with you.”

Life blossomed in her chest again as a giddy smile spread across her face. Leo let go of one of her hands to instead brush the back of his hand against her cheek, a matching smile on his lips. His hand moved from her cheek to the side of her neck, thumb resting against her pulse. Gaze flickering between her eyes and lips, he started to lean in.

She met him halfway, letting their lips brush delicately against each other. Her hands moved to his shoulders, holding him steady while they continued to trade soft, quick kisses. His free hand drifted to her waist, fingers once again tapping out a pattern. Calypso slid one hand up his neck and into his hair, kissing him longer.

Leo let his hand on her neck tangle in her loose hair instead as she sighed into his mouth, deepening the kiss. His hand on her waist tightened and she moved closer to him on the couch, almost crawling into his lap. Her hand on her shoulder moved down his arm, nails trailing along his skin. He pulled her the rest of the way into his lap, tilting his head up so they could continue kissing at the new angle.

After another few long minutes they finally pulled apart just enough to breathe. Calypso grinned and rested her head in the curve where his shoulder met his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Yeah,” he said, a little breathless. “You’re not getting rid of me now.”

 

 

Calypso accepted Jason’s high-five as she entered _Olympus_ , grinning when she heard the disco music blaring from the jukebox. She slid onto a stool at the bar, draping her jacket over the chair back. Leo grinned at her as he made his way from the other end of the bar where he had just served a group of bachelorettes. “Hey, Sunshine. What’ll it be?”

“Something sweet,” she told him. “Surprise me.”

He flashed her a trouble-maker’s grin before putting his hands on the bar and pushing himself partially over the counter. One hand landed in her hair and pulled her in for a kiss that probably was a little too dirty for a public place, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. When he let her go, her cheeks were a pale pink and their friends were wolf-whistling.

“Sweet enough?” he teased.

She tapped her finger against her chin, trying to control her grin. “Hmm, I’m not sure. Might need a second taste.”

He didn’t even bother with leaning over the bar this time, instead swinging his entire body up onto the counter in front of her. She laughed as he settled on the bar and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her thoroughly.

Piper passed them behind the bar, flicking Leo with her towel. “No kissing on the counter, Valdez. Make out with your girlfriend on your own time.”

“I plan to,” he said, kissing her quickly again before tumbling backward off the counter.

“You okay, babe?” Calypso checked.

He popped back up with a grin wide enough to break his face. “Never better.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read, and please let me know what you think! I'm considering a Leo POV sequel/companion story so let me know if that is something that you'd like!


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